Paula Jean Webb passed away peacefully in her Bolivar home on Saturday, June 13th, 2020.

She was born to Paul and Willa Jean Long on August 25, 1938, in West Plains, MO. She began her education at the Bolivar Ward schools. She attended Southwest Baptist College and graduated from Oklahoma Baptist University. She received her Master’s in Music at West Georgia College in Carrollton, GA.  She married Jerry Webb on the 5^th of August 1960. Paula supported her husband Jerry in his call to ministry in several churches in Missouri, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Georgia.  She played piano for several of the churches they served and helped Jerry lead youth and senior adult ministries in several churches as well.  Paula was an accomplished vocalist with a beautiful soprano voice.  She loved singing with her husband and family, with her church choirs, and also as a member of the Georgia Baptist Jubalheirs.  She also was a public-school music teacher and taught private voice and piano lessons.

Paula was a dedicated wife and mother first and foremost. She treasured her children and family and loved spending time with them eating meals, playing games, singing hymns and songs, and watching favorite movies and musicals. She especially loved her role as Nana. She had a vibrant personality and always made people around her laugh, often by breaking out in song just because it would pop up in her head in the middle of a conversation. She loved to travel to see new places and share adventures with her family and friends, and many she just met.

Paula is preceded in death by her husband, Jerry W. Webb; her father, Paul Long; and her mother, Willa Jean Long. She is survived by her brothers, Charles and Tim Long; her sister, Linda Gothard; her children: Pamela Webb, Rhonda Lewandowski and her husband Mark, Rick Webb and his wife Jennifer, and Jay Webb and his wife Katherine. Her grandchildren are: Daniel Lewandowski and his wife Nao, Sarah Lewandowski, Rebecca Lewandowski, Philip Lewandowski, Emma Jay, Elliott Jay, Apple Jane Jay, Agatha Webb, Mariah Duff, Andrew Duff, Elijah Webb Duff, and Autumn Cantrell and her husband Tyler.

A celebration of life service will be at First Baptist Bolivar on Saturday, June 20, 2020, at 11:00 am, with a visitation from 10:00 to 11:00 am. A short graveside service will follow at Greenlawn Memorial Gardens Springfield, MO.  Friends and family may call at their own convenience Friday, June 19, 2020, from 12:00 noon until 8:00 pm, in an effort to maintain social distancing. Donations for local missions at First Baptist Bolivar will be accepted in lieu of flowers.  Arrangements have been entrusted to Pitts Chapel, Bolivar, MO.